Newman grabs N.H. pole with new track qualifying record

Loudon, NH (Sports Network) - Ryan Newman will start on the pole for Sunday's
Sylvania 300 -- the second race in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship
-- after setting a new track qualifying record at New Hampshire Motor
Speedway.

Newman, who is one of the 12 drivers in the Chase field, turned a lap at 136.497 mph during Friday's qualifying for his second pole win of the season. Seven of his 51 career poles in the Sprint Cup Series have come at New Hampshire.

The previous track record at New Hampshire was 135.922 mph, set by Brad
Keselowski two months ago.

After finishing 10th in last Sunday's Chase opener at Chicagoland Speedway,
Newman sits eighth in the point standings. He is in his fifth and final season
with Stewart-Haas Racing before moving over to Richard Childress Racing in
2014.

Kasey Kahne will share the front row with Newman after making a lap at 136.082
mph in the early going of qualifying. Jeff Gordon qualified third, and Kurt
Busch took the fourth spot. Chevrolet swept the first two starting rows, and
the top-four finishers are in the Chase field.

Logano, Harvick, Kenseth and Biffle are in the Chase as well. Kenseth's win at
Chicagoland gave him an eight-point lead over Kyle Busch, his Joe Gibbs Racing
teammate, and an 11-point advantage over Jimmie Johnson. Busch qualified 12th,
one spot behind Johnson.